


Repressing your misery does not make it go away

by AnonymouslyAfraid



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Actual brotherly love- like platonic, Body Horror, Brotherly Love, Do you recall how the slime exploded out of Nightmare when he was corrupted, Dream starts crying and he Cannot Stop, I do not think his bones are intact beneath that slime, I'm a sap for happy endings, Learning the true importance of letting yourself be sad, Other, Technically healing hugs, The Power Of Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 15:38:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15643770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonymouslyAfraid/pseuds/AnonymouslyAfraid
Summary: Something i wrote as a oneshot- Don't know how i would continue this!Dream holds the weight of the world on his shoulders, he has to keep up a smile and happy demeanor- he's the guardian of positivity! But... he's been bottling up all of the bad feelings.One day he can't keep those feelings bottled up anymore, and he becomes a beacon of his misery.Nightmare doesn't give up the chance to try and exploit that.





	Repressing your misery does not make it go away

Was it ever going to be enough?  
For Dream, he couldn't stop asking that question. No matter how many people he helped, no matter how much happiness he spread...  
It seemed like negativity always prevailed.  
People loved him, sure, but... there were so many that resented him for being unable to spread more happiness- or for the fact that he spread happiness in the first place.  
He closed his eyes, digging his palms into his eyes to try and stifle the flow of tears before they could fall.  
The thoughts persisted, and it only became harder.  
Worse, he began his quest already having failed the person most important to him.  
His brother.  
No matter how much happiness he brought, he couldn't undo the damage his brother had suffered.  
The overwhelming corruption that overtook him...  
He couldn't fix that. He didn't know how to fix that.  
A sob forced itself from him, he curled up and tears streamed down his face regardless of his attempts to hold them back. After a few minutes, he felt a strong presence, and looked up-  
Nightmare seemed to be just as surprised to see him, it seemed.  
Dream simply blinked, slowly unable to hold back his sobs, crumbling to the ground and wailing.  
He was vulnerable, he was right there in front of him and helpless... and Nightmare still didn't strike.  
Instead he was quiet, slowly kneeling down as some wretched emotion sunk itself into his very core.  
It was surrounded by regret, loneliness, longing, despair, distress...  
It was the feeling of something familiar. Love.  
Hopelessness radiated off of Dream in waves, stress and misery weaved inbetween, along with so much more...  
And instead of feeling powerful, Nightmare felt hurt.  
He didn't do this. This wasn't him- it surely wasn't, he hadn't done anything yet- And somehow that made it worse.  
Somewhere deep down, he could imagine a young skeleton feeling the same, hiding in his brother's arms.  
But Dream didn't have that.  
Nightmare kneeled down and scooped up Dream, holding him close to his chest.  
It felt *wrong.* So, so wrong... he never knew Dream to despair. He always held on, he always tried his best, he always...  
He had hated the endless positivity, but he hated this more.  
"I'm s-s-sorry!" Dream cried, "I'm s-so sorry..."  
The tears burned, and Nightmare looked further down- the slime was burning up under Dream's touch, unlike it had ever done before.  
All of the negativity he had felt, it was... wrong. It all just felt so wrong. Misdirected, twisted, it...  
He felt tears roll down his cheeks, trembling.  
"Don't you... hate me?"  
Dream looked up, shaking his head quickly and sniffling, a mess of snot and tears.  
"No!" He cried, "No, i-i love you, i m-miss you so m-much..."  
Nightmare felt like he had been struck, pain slowly radiating across his bones as he hugged Dream closer.  
Even after everything he'd done...  
Nightmare felt a weight lift from his bones, pain crashing into him in full force as he felt the agony he'd experienced when he was first corrupted, crying out and shaking badly.  
Dream held him close, horrified- and Nightmare realized that his body was falling apart, the slick goo that had coated him had almost entirely vanished, leaving behind a fragmented shell that held his body, purple streaming through and flickering like flames.  
Neither of them said anything, the only sounds were of pained whimpers and sniffling.

Dream didn't let go of him, not once. Nightmare was in agony, but he'd wanted this so badly. His brother, caring for him- caring about him... Though corrupt negativity clung to the inside of his ribcage, radiating resentment and anger for those who wronged him in the first place, he could feel his true emotions better. Regret, sadness, relief. He'd told Dream everything as his brother carried him, determined to get help for his shattered body. Nightmare wanted to help his brother, too. He'd been drowning himself in positivity, he wasn't letting himself be miserable or upset, he wasn't letting himself air his grievances, he was just crushing himself under the weight of stress and responsibility.  
Maybe that was part of why Nightmare could break through his gooey prison. The realization that the people from their universe, far in the past, were wrong. He was needed, he was a guardian, he was a protector.  
Negativity that was ignored and quashed instead of acknowledged only ever blew up in the end, and it showed in himself and his brother. Nightmare was needed to help heal Dream, he needed to make him face his bad feelings for his own good. He needed to let himself feel bad so he could truly feel good.  
Nightmare coughed, choking and spitting up a glob of condensed bitterness, Dream avoiding the mess and rubbing his back.  
"It's okay, it's okay, we'll get help soon...." Dream cooed, nuzzling Nightmare's fragmented face. "You'll be okay..."  
Nightmare groaned in reply, closing his eye. He couldn't tell Dream that he was vomiting up the poison that held him prisoner for all these years, he could only continue trying to sort out his own feelings internally and hope to tell him later. He was surprised Dream was still standing, honestly. With how messed up he became, it only showed how strong he was to have lasted this long. It was... harrowing, but, inspiring. Finally being back by his brother's side finally let him truly enjoy his aura of positivity and bask in his love for him fully. This time, he knew, his brother wouldn't let him simply suffer again... The posion in his ribcage screamed otherwise, said Dream would leave him to die, mae him suffer for what he'd done all those years and rightfully abandon him, let the others judge his fate-- But he was sure, Dream would protect him. He wouldn't let it happen again, now that he knew. He just wished he could apologize right away, but he'd used up all the energy he had left just explaining what had happened.  
"Okay- we're almost there, just a little longer! Just hold on a little longer..." Dream said, voice trailing off with worry.  
Nightmare glanced up weakly, giving a weak grunt and receiving a small smile in reply. It made him feel leagues better to see his brother relieved than it ever did to see him suffer, it didn't leave a festering aftertaste of guilt, anger, and bitterness. He could feel more than just an endless feedback of negativity.  
For once in ages, he just wanted to fix things. He let his eye shut again, numbing to the constant pain, finally able to rest again.  
"Hey- hey no, please- Stay awake, just a little longer!" Dream cried, voice frantic.  
Nightmare groaned, he couldn't open his eye again. He tried his best to stay awake for now, for Dream. Just a little longer, like he said- he wanted to go back tok how it was, the two of them being there for one another, so, he would stay awake a little longer to ease Dream's worry.  
"O-okay, just- just keep listening to my voice, i-it'll be okay soon!" Dream squeaked, tears choking his voice and dripping onto Nightmare. "I-i... i'm so s-sorry, i just... i-i'm so sorry i wasn't...."  
Nightmare grunted softly, but Dream still got the message.  
"R-right- i-i know, you're- you're here now, a-and i-i'm here now, and w-we're together, i-i just..." Dream hugged him closer, tighter. "... I-i love you, and i n-never wanna let go..."  
Nightmare could only manage a faint hum, exhausted, slowly slipping into unconsciousness despite his attempts to stay awake. He felt warm, safe, and loved in Dream's arms, and fell into a comfortable rest.

Dream was glad to have broken down in a post-pacifist AU. He'd come here originally for the privacy and vastness, able to hide away- but he hadn't gone too far, and he'd made it to Toriel in time. He didn't tell her who Nightmare was, but she was kind enough to help him regardless.  
Now, he sat by Nightmare's bedside, firmly holding one of his hands with both of his own. His brother was so much weaker now- all of his power had faded with the evaporation of the dense goo that held him together, and... Well, now all that was holding him together was his magic and the many, many bandages Toriel wrapped him up with. He was borderline mummified, his breathing was wet and wheezy, but he looked so peaceful despite this. Dream choked out a sob, rubbing Nightmare's knuckles gently and kissing his hand gingerly. He hoped that he woke up soon, even though he knew Nightmare needed lots of rest to recover. He just wanted to hug him close and apologize and tell him how very very much he loved him, how glad he was to have him back, and that he was alive, and... Dream sobbed again, giving a miserable whine and letting his tears roll freely down his cheeks.  
"Is everything okay, dear?" Called Toriel from the doorway.  
Dream glanced over, hiccupping and scrubbing his eyes, nodding.  
"Th-th-thank you, e-everything is o-okay..." He whimpered, voice strained, "H-h-he just hasn't w-woken up yet..."  
Toriel cooed softly, moving out of the doorway and over to Dream, giving him a gentle hug from behind.  
"I know it can be hard, but you just have to wait..." She said softly. "Your friend... his injuries may be severe, but he should make a full recovery. You just need to be patient..."  
Dream sniffled and hiccupped again, leaning back into the hug and sobbing again. He couldn't stop crying, from the moment Nightmare hugged him. He knew it was in part that his brother naturally gave an aura of negativity- and even as weak as it was now, it prevented him from bottling anything up. Even though his face hurt, and breathing was tricky, it... it felt nice to just be able to cry, and cry, and cry- and nothing could stop it. Finally just letting the misery pour out and stop hurting as bad as it did. He hadn't realized that while his attention had slipped, he'd begun wailing again, Toriel hugging him firmly and rubbing his shoulder, murmuring soft assurances and telling him to let it all out.  
... He did, hardly able to get a breath between sobs, shaking and voice trembling. A smaller pair of arms wrapped around him from a lower vantage- surely Frisk- gently patting his back. His cries were loud and long, ragged from how long he'd been crying already. Nightmare didn't wake up, and that was okay. He just let himself cry freely into Toriel's arms, for once.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry about my other fics not being updated! My laptop broke ages ago, and I'm using a tablet to surf the web. Sadly, it is not the best for trying to post stories.
> 
> I don't know what to write next, but if you'd like to see this continued, write your suggestions down in the comments!


End file.
